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Crossbills and Conifers: One Million Years of Adaptation and Coevolution
£30.00
Available for Pre-order. Due July 2026.
Crossbills and Conifers explores an intimate natural historical connection, revealing why crossbills have become an exemplar of diversification and coevolution. Craig Benkman takes readers on his 40-year journey of research and discovery, exploring a series of unique and interrelated findings about the behavior, ecology, evolution and conservation of a remarkable group of birds.
Key to revealing these insights is the ease with which one can measure how variation in bill structure, and conifer cone structure and phenology, influence the efficiency at which crossbills extract seeds from cones. Consumer-resource interactions are fundamental to much of ecology, but such relationships are rarely so readily quantified, not least with the coevolutionary arms race driving the evolution of the newly discovered Cassia Crossbill.
This accessible and handsomely illustrated book will appeal to a wide audience. Students of ornithology and evolutionary biology will gain a greater understanding of the value of natural history and especially the utility of knowing when who eats whom and why. Bird enthusiasts and naturalists will learn much about the world of crossbills, the causes of their diversity which has challenged and inspired many ornithologists, and the threats that these birds face.
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The bad years, the invasive years, even hybridisation - it is all in here. Enjoy. -- John Miles * Bird Watching * This book is a must-read, particularly for those interested in crossbills but also for those with a general interest in the feeding ecology of birds. -- Ron Summers * Scottish Birds * Crossbills and Conifers offers birders far more than just a life history of a bird; it uses the Crossbill as a lens through which to explore the major themes of ecology, diversification, and conservation. It’s a rewarding read... Highly recommended. -- John Hague * 10,000 Birds * ...evolutionary ecologists and, of course, crossbill enthusiasts will find a lot to enjoy in this comprehensive study. -- Arjan Arenas * BNA Bulletin * Every reader will both be in awe of Benkman’s work and also be educated in the details of thoughtful and insightful biological research... this book is an education in the reality of doing good biology. -- Bruce M. Beehler * The Wilson Journal of Ornithology * These are fascinating stories, which are well conveyed with an accessible text and a variety of illustrations... a valuable source of inspiration. -- Jon Fjeldså * The Scientific Journal of The Danish Ornithological Society * Specialization, coevolution, speciation, and reproductive isolation form the heart of this fascinating work, which delves into ongoing adaptive radiation and concludes with the potential consequences of climate change. -- B. Posse * Nos Oiseaux * This book is a landmark in science writing... It is quite simply one of those rare, near-perfect bird books, uniting a user-friendly approach with some of the most sophisticated science in evolutionary biology right now... it would blow Darwin’s mind. -- Owen Robertson * Birding * ...the author succeeds in creating a stimulating arc of tension, which presents the success of multidisciplinary approaches at their best. -- Wolfgang Scherzinger * Ornithologischer Beobachter *
Author Biography
Craig Benkman is an evolutionary ecologist and ornithologist, and an Emeritus Professor and Robert B. Berry Distinguished Chair in Ecology at the University of Wyoming. Before moving to Wyoming in 2004, Craig was on the faculty in the Department of Biology at New Mexico State University. He received a B.A. from UC Berkeley, a M.S. from Northern Arizona University, a Ph.D. from State University of New York at Albany, and conducted postdoctoral research at Princeton University and the University of British Columbia. He is a Fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Science and received the E. O. Wilson Naturalist Award from the American Society of Naturalists and the William Brewster Memorial Award from the American Ornithological Society.Related products
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